Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
The third year of Harry and his friends at Hogwarts is set to begin on September 1, 1993. At the end of August, Harry has another serious argument with the Dursleys, accidentally inflating Aunt Marge (Harry was enraged by her insults about his parents), and leaves the house, taking his belongings. On the street, he feels as if someone is following him. He notices a strange black dog in the bushes and pulls out his wand, but as he stumbles, he falls, and suddenly a magical triple-decker bus, the "Knight Bus," appears, and the dog disappears.
The "Knight Bus" takes Harry to the "Leaky Cauldron" pub, where his friends Ron and Hermione are waiting for him. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, immediately assures that the Ministry will not punish the boy for the incident. He also informs Harry that Sirius Black, a dangerous wizard and follower of Voldemort, has escaped from Azkaban prison. It is likely that he will try to kill Harry. Arthur Weasley, Ron’s father and a Ministry of Magic employee, asks Harry not to look for Sirius. Harry is confused by this: why should he search for someone who wants to kill him?
On the train, the friends sit in a compartment where the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus Lupin, is sleeping in the corner. They discuss the escape of Sirius Black, but before they reach the school, the train suddenly stops. It becomes very cold, someone moves down the corridor, and when the door to the compartment opens, the friends see a terrifying creature in a black cloak—a Dementor. Harry hears a woman's scream, then loses consciousness. Professor Lupin wakes up and, using a special protective spell "Expecto Patronum," drives the Dementor out of the compartment, and it disappears. Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn that by order of the Ministry of Magic, the school will be under the protection of Dementors—these dreadful Azkaban guards searching for Sirius Black.
Harry asks Lupin to teach him the protective spell against Dementors. The professor agrees to hold training sessions, but for some reason, he interrupts them during the full moon.
Hagrid now teaches the Care of Magical Creatures class. The Slytherins are displeased with this (especially Draco Malfoy). In the first lesson, Hagrid introduces the students to Buckbeak, a Hippogriff who demands special respect. Before approaching it, one must bow. Harry does this, and the Hippogriff bows in response, after which the boy successfully flies on Buckbeak. Malfoy, however, refusing to bow before the Hippogriff, insults it, resulting in an injury to his arm from the angry creature, and he complains to his father. In the end, due to this incident, the Ministry of Magic decides to execute Buckbeak.
During a winter walk through the only wizarding village, Hogsmeade, Harry, under his invisibility cloak, enters Madame Rosmerta's bar and overhears a conversation that reveals Sirius Black, the wanted fugitive, is his godfather. He was also the best friend of Harry's father, James. It is believed that he betrayed Harry's parents when they were hiding from Voldemort, and also killed Peter Pettigrew, another friend of the Potters (only a finger was found, and nothing else). Harry wants to find Sirius and make him answer for the betrayal and the death of his parents.
But one night, while looking at the Marauder's Map, a Christmas gift from the Weasley twins, Harry sees that Peter Pettigrew is wandering around Hogwarts. The boy leaves the common room, but despite the map showing that he should encounter Peter, he doesn't see him. Suddenly, Professor Snape appears around the corner, but Lupin comes to Harry's aid. He takes the map, which Snape had tried to confiscate, and says he will study it himself, also asking Harry to come to his office.
In Lupin's office, he scolds Harry for his recklessness and takes the map from him. Harry informs Lupin that the map sometimes lies and shows people who have been dead for a long time (such as Peter Pettigrew). The professor is very surprised, as he knows the map never lies (Harry doesn't know that Lupin is one of its creators).
On the day of the Hippogriff's scheduled execution, Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Hagrid's hut to support him. Suddenly, someone throws stones through the window: one hits Harry on the head, and the other breaks a jug, from which Ron's missing rat Scabbers jumps out (until now, they thought Hermione's cat Crookshanks had eaten him).
The friends look out the window and see Mr. Fudge, Albus Dumbledore, and the executioner Walden Macnair approaching Hagrid's hut. Harry, Ron, and Hermione run out of the house and head towards Hogwarts. On the way, Scabbers suddenly bites Ron on the finger, breaks free, and runs away. The boy chases and catches him, but then a black dog attacks him and drags him to the Whomping Willow, where they find a secret entrance. Hermione and Harry rush after Ron and the dog. The tunnel leads them to the Shrieking Shack, which is said to be haunted by ghosts.
No ghosts are found, but Sirius Black is there, in the flesh. Harry is fully convinced that Sirius is the traitor and points his wand at him. But then Lupin enters the room, followed by Snape. After a tense scene, which ends with Snape being stunned (he shouldn't have interfered), Black and Lupin explain to Harry that Sirius didn't betray the Potters. It was Peter who did—an Animagus who can turn into a rat. It turns out that Ron's rat is actually Pettigrew (he cut off his own finger so everyone would think he was dead, then transformed into a rat).
Harry convinces Sirius not to kill Peter, as he is the only proof of his godfather's innocence. They all leave the shack, and Sirius offers Harry to be his guardian and live with him. But then the full moon rises, and Professor Lupin transforms into a werewolf (he forgot to take his medicine). Sirius turns into a dog and begins fighting with his friend. The werewolf proves to be the stronger opponent, but a howling call from the forest is heard, and Lupin flees. Peter, seizing the moment, transforms into a rat and disappears.
Harry follows the injured Sirius, who collapses unconscious by the lakeshore. Dementors appear. Potter tries to use the "Expecto Patronum" spell but quickly loses strength. On the other side of the lake, someone casts the spell again, and a magical white stag drives the dementors away with a powerful burst of magical energy. Harry loses consciousness and wakes up only in the hospital wing. From his friends and Dumbledore, he learns that Sirius is imprisoned in the school tower and awaiting his execution—the Dementor's kiss. Peter has escaped, meaning there is no proof of Sirius's innocence.
Dumbledore hints to the kids that they can save innocent lives by interfering with time. Hermione takes his advice: she has a special magical device that Professor McGonagall gave her so that she could attend some classes that run at the same time. It's the Time-Turner. Harry and Hermione travel back in time and save Buckbeak and Sirius, and they even help themselves: the stone that hit Harry in Hagrid's hut was thrown by Hermione. The mysterious howl that drew Lupin, in his werewolf form, into the forest was also made by her. And finally, the Patronus that saved Harry and Sirius from the dementors was summoned by Harry himself, not his father, as Harry had originally believed.
It seemed that everything ended well, but Harry is upset that he won’t be able to live with his godfather and will have to return to the Dursleys. Meanwhile, the one who betrayed his parents has escaped and gone to serve Voldemort.
After all the events, Lupin resigns from the school because he doesn’t want to put the children in danger (someone let slip about Lupin's dual nature). He returns the Marauder's Map to Harry and leaves Hogwarts, promising to meet Potter again.
The final scenes take place in the Great Hall and in front of the entrance to Hogwarts, where Harry, receiving a new broomstick, the "Firebolt," as a gift from Sirius, joyfully takes his first flight on it.